Friday, February 5, 2010

V Day

Tuesday night was V Day, one of my favorite days of the year. It's the day of the annual performance of The Vagina Monologues at GSU (other V Days happen on other days around the world close to Valentine's Day). Unlike Valentine's Day, this day is about celebrating victory and vaginas.

This was the first time that I've actually been able to just sit in the audience and watch the show. It was weird and refreshing.

I am so inspired every year by this amazing play. It's hilarious, it's heartbreaking, and most importantly, it's real. Real stories about real women.I know that some people can't see the point of reading monologues about vaginas and war and pubic hair and tampons, but it's so important. It's so important for women to have an outlet to speak; as Dr. Amy once put it, "We hear the penis speak every day." My future mother-in-law once asked me, "Do you really think it's still a man-oriented world?"And my answer was, "Yes. Why else are breast implants so popular?"

Many people assume that the fight for gender equality is over, that women are finally liberated. But then I think of the smaller battles that we still face everyday. The battle to convince myself that I'm pretty without makeup. The battle to prove that we don't need children to make our lives have purpose. The battle to not hate my thighs, to not judge myself based on the Victoria's Secret catalog sitting on the coffee table. Then there are women suffering from literal wars in their home countries, like women in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, who are being systematically raped and tortured. I love knowing that I helped some of these women find a safe haven. Proceeds from the global V Day movement go towards building the City of Joy in the Congo.

The show also got me thinking about the "comfort women" who were tortured during WWII. I want to find a way to support them, to help them get the apology they deserve from the Japanese government. Maybe I can march with them one day.

I'm so proud to have been a part of the V Day movement for the last five years. I might even try to organize some kind of V Day event in Japan this year.

The world needs more holidays that help people, and fewer days that profit big corporations. Thank you, Eve Ensler, for giving us all a chance to make change in the world and see a good show while we're at it.